With these thoughts in mind, Huo Yuhao decided to speak with Jing Hongchen about reforming Mingde Hall.
At that moment, the hall was swarming with workers cleaning up the aftermath. Huo Yuhao walked up to the foreman, the one in charge of all the workers on site.
The man was clad in a work uniform, barking orders left and right. When Huo Yuhao called out to him, the foreman looked over, saw the white coat of a Mingde Hall researcher and the fifth-rank soul engineer badge pinned on Huo Yuhao's chest, and immediately responded with respectful attention.
"Is there something I can help you with, sir?"
Huo Yuhao had gotten that fifth-rank soul engineer certification during his spare time. It wasn't hard for him.
Of course, if any Soul King from the Sun Moon Empire who had struggled their whole lives and still couldn't attain that rank heard that, they'd probably want to smack him. 'Not hard'—what a load of nonsense! The higher the soul engineer rank, the more demanding it became on one's spiritual power. It wasn't just about soul power alone.
Huo Yuhao cleared his throat and asked, "What do you plan to do with the destroyed metal fragments and soul tool wreckage?"
The foreman paused, then answered, "Uh… good stuff will be stored. The rest—just sell it off to the market."
"Don't sell anything. Keep everything. Sort the materials and pile them up somewhere."
"...Understood."
With that, Huo Yuhao turned and left. The foreman stood there scratching his head. He'd been planning to sneak away with some of the scrap metal that Mingde Hall normally wouldn't care about and make a little extra coin. But now, a distinguished soul engineer had given a direct order. He didn't dare mess around—there was a clear hierarchy here.
Huo Yuhao walked the path toward Jing Hongchen's office.
The reason he'd told the foreman to keep all the scraps was twofold: first, to save his teacher some money on rebuilding Mingde Hall; second, to test one of his own ideas.
Scraps were still scraps. Many components were too badly damaged and would have to be melted down and remade. But Huo Yuhao had a way—perhaps—to breathe new life into some of them.
When he reached his teacher's door, he knocked.
"Come in," came Jing Hongchen's voice.
Huo Yuhao pushed the door open and walked in. What he saw surprised him. For some reason, Jing Hongchen was in a really good mood.
"...Teacher, how are you smiling like that right after what happened to Mingde Hall?"
Huo Yuhao looked confused.
"Yuhao! What brings you here?"
Seeing Huo Yuhao, Jing Hongchen beamed even wider. His warm expression made Huo Yuhao a little... unnerved.
"Well, it's like this, Teacher. I figured this would be a good time for us to make some changes to Mingde Hall during the reconstruction."
Jing Hongchen's smile faded slightly, replaced by interest.
"Oh? You think there were flaws in the previous layout? Tell me more, Yuhao."
Huo Yuhao cleared his throat and began.
"Yes. Teacher, I believe Mingde Hall, as the nation's pillar and the Sun Moon Empire's top soul tool research institution, has internal systems that are too simplistic. It's just rows and rows of crafting stations, and every researcher works on their own projects. That really limits their potential."
"Nowadays we've got things like sealed milk bottles, new types of energy sources… I think it's time we made some upgrades."
Jing Hongchen listened carefully. He nodded from time to time. In hindsight, Mingde Hall's old structure was indeed a bit crude.
"So tell me, what do you suggest we do?"
Leaning back in his chair, he looked expectantly at Huo Yuhao. This boy's ideas always surprised him.
"First of all, I think we need to divide the hall into zones," Huo Yuhao began. "I believe our personnel fall into two main categories: one group has the qualifications of soul engineers but limited innovation capacity, while the other group also has soul engineer qualifications but excels at innovating and developing new soul tools."
"Based on that, we should divide Mingde Hall into two main areas: a soul tool manufacturing zone and a soul tool research zone."
"The research zone doesn't need to be too large—only a small number of researchers are truly innovators. Within that zone, we can create sub-categories for different research directions: military, civilian, energy development, and so on. Most engineers are proficient in specific areas—we can't expect everyone to be a jack-of-all-trades. We must maximize each person's individual strengths to get the best results."
"With that in place, assigning the right facilities becomes much easier. The only issue would be how to properly categorize the personnel."
"As for the manufacturing zone, that should be much larger. Prototypes developed in the research area can be quickly delivered to corresponding production sections for testing and replication. These zones can also mirror the research categories for better workflow."
"In the past, we relied entirely on the engineers themselves to build everything. I think that's too inefficient. Now that sealed milk bottle tech is mature, we can build automated tools and machines to assist with basic tasks. That would massively increase our efficiency."
After the lengthy explanation, Huo Yuhao paused and watched his teacher closely.
Jing Hongchen's brow was furrowed in deep thought.
The ideas weren't complex, but they were clear and practical. Often it was the simple things people overlooked most.
If these reforms were implemented in the real Mingde Hall… Jing Hongchen's eyes lit up. It could truly streamline everything.
Seeing his teacher's interest, Huo Yuhao continued, outlining further details: the automated facilities he had experimented with at Mu Chen's shop, the classification system for personnel, and more.
Jing Hongchen listened intently. As the head of Mingde Hall, he cared deeply about what Huo Yuhao was proposing.
By the end, Jing Hongchen could already picture a prosperous and revitalized Mingde Hall. He slapped the desk and made a swift decision.
"Excellent! Yuhao, we'll do it your way. Are you busy right now? Need a break?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head. To him, this was no different from presenting a research proposal—a task he'd done countless times in his previous life.
"Good. Then let's not delay. I'll convene a high-level meeting of Mingde Hall's leadership immediately. You'll come with me and present your full plan in detail."
"Yes, Teacher."
Huo Yuhao didn't consider this a burden—in fact, he couldn't wait. This was the perfect opportunity to build prestige within Mingde Hall and pave the way for leading future research projects.
(End of Chapter)
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